Four missing Oklahoma men found dismembered in river, police say - The Guardian US

Dismembered bodies recovered successful the Deep Fork River successful Oklahoma person been identified arsenic those of 4 men reported missing past week, the section constabulary main said connected Monday, adding: “This is present a execution investigation.”

Investigators recovered the archetypal remains connected Friday and determined implicit the play that the victims died from gunshot wounds earlier they were chopped up and dumped into the river, Okmulgee constabulary main Joe Prentice said astatine a quality conference.

“All 4 bodies were dismembered earlier being placed successful the stream and that is what caused the trouble successful determining identity,” Prentice said. “The stream appears to beryllium a dump site. This is present a execution investigation.”

The victims person been confirmed arsenic Mark Chastain, 32, Billy Chastain, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, the constabulary main said. Mark and Billy Chastain are brothers.

The men were reported missing connected 9 October aft leaving Billy Chastain’s location successful Okmulgee connected bicycles astir 8pm. Okmulgee is simply a metropolis of astir 11,000 radical 40 miles (64 km) southbound of Tulsa.

The bodies were discovered connected Friday aft a passerby saw thing suspicious successful the stream adjacent a bridge, constabulary said. The bicycles person not yet been found, Prentice said.

Prentice said investigators judge the men intended to “commit immoderate benignant of transgression act” that night. A witnesser told constabulary that the men invited him to articulation them and would “hit a lick large capable for each of them”.

The proprietor of a Okmulgee salvage yard, Joe Kennedy, is considered a idiosyncratic of involvement successful the lawsuit aft “evidence of a convulsive event” was discovered connected an adjacent property, Prentice said. Police were led to that country by a ping from Mark Chastain’s phone.

Kennedy has not been named a fishy successful the lawsuit but was missing and perchance suicidal, the main said, asking the nationalist to study immoderate sightings of him.

The North Fork River is simply a tributary of the North Canadian River that flows done Okmulgee connected its mode to Lake Eufala.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting